Outdoor sports such as bicycling and skateboarding have recently become very popular. Another exciting and challenging outdoor sport is scooter riding, which is similar both to skateboarding and to bicycling. Human powered-scooters are known in the art. Previous scooters generally have been designed for nonvigorous recreational activities, such as children's toys and light recreational use by adults.
Motorless scooters are two-wheeled vehicles which, unlike bicycles, do not use a gear and chain mechanism for power. Instead, scooters are propelled only by the rider pushing with his feet. Human powered scooters are safe and exciting alternatives to stationary bikes or treadmills.
The scooter rider may engage in jumping in a manner similar to jumping a bicycle or a skateboard. Jumping and landing increase the force placed on the scooter and the frame may bend or break if it is not strong enough to withstand these forces.
Previous scooters have had two small wheels or one small wheel and one larger wheel. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,701,410, 1,661,307, 1,535,167 and 1,615,403 show scooters with two small wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,046 shows a scooter with a small front wheel and a larger rear wheel.
Other scooters have had driving or propulsion mechanisms, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,761,014 and 5,224,724.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,089 shows a scooter with two bicycle-sized wheels. The frame of the scooter is constructed such that two rigid and spaced rods extend downwardly and then horizontally. Several spaced links are perpendicularly coupled between the rods. A plate is coupled to the frame to define a platform where the rider may stand.
None of these previous scooters have had sufficiently sturdy construction to withstand the vigorous riding activity seen with current riders. There exists a need for scooters which withstand forces placed on the frame during vigorous riding. The previous scooters do not provide an apparatus primarily for the purpose of adult recreation and exercise which are constructed so that the frame of the scooter will withstand increased forces associated with vigorous use.